Friday, December 30, 2005

Over two decades ago, Rafael Eitan, nicknamed Raful, former IDF Chief-of-Staff and MK, had referred to Arab terrorists by saying that we have to be able to control them so they would be no more dangerous than "drunk cockroaches in a bottle" (see, for example, here).

I knew him well and can testify that his metaphor stemmed from his farmyard upbringing.

He was pilloried and as the above reference makes clear, his words are all over countless hate-Israel websites.

So, it will be with interest that I will follow the web refrences and the reactions this reference about spiders:

It is in the clear interests of the big spider, the United States, and the little spider, Israel, to create a crisis between Syria and Lebanon

.

It will be interesting because an Arab Mk, Azmi Bisharrah uttered these crass words and, as I expect, all our civil liberatrian progressives will be defending his right to say these things.

> If somebody was intending to eat something and then forgot that he was intending> to eat that thing and started making a bracha achrona and then> remebered that he wanted to eat before saying the shem, and he now wants> to eat, what should he do?

It would seem that once he decided to make the bracha achrona that decision qualifies as a hefsek daas and his bracha rishona is no longer chal, so he will in any case need a new bracha rishona. Thus, the Q is really the same as: if I'm starting to benxch and then decide to eat more of the same food...? But since he did not yet say the shem, better not to make the bracha achrona (sheh lo tsricha) and make a new bracha rishona.

So saith Ehud Olmert, in response to increased numbers of Palestinian Kassams falling on Israeli targets following the disengagement that was supposed to improve Israel's security or, at the very least, Israel's ability to protect its citizens and spend less money, time, soldiers and equipment on security concerns and get on with the process of peace:

"I believe that these means will significantly reduce the shelling. There is nothing that can totally prevent it, unless those who fire decide to stop firing."

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

While I'm here in the UK, saw a story in the London Times last Friday entitled "Today's Joseph and Mary would face 15 checkpoints". Bit of a cheek that one. Playing on the religious sensitivities of the Christmas season. But is the analogy correct?

I thought not and sent them the following letter:

Stephen Farrell's story is a bit anachronistic.

Joseph and Mary were Jewish. Why would they face problems at checkpoints? They weren't suspected of terrorism or posing a security threat.

In fact, if one wishes to recall those days, at least adopt the nomenclature of the period. It is not the "West Bank" but, as we read in Acts 8:1, rather Judea and Samaria.

I found this comment, though, to be just as devasting as everyone else's assault on the film for equalizing Jewish revenge and Palestinian terrorism:

If he had told the story straight, without such hedging, and at half the length, it would have borne far more conviction. At the least, we would have been spared the sight, toward the end, of Avner having sex with his wife while images of the hostage ordeal flood his weary brain. How’s that? Is he fathering new life to replace the dead, or getting off on the sound of German helicopters? What a curious arc this movie has described: starting in terror, and ending up on the very brink of kitsch.

Talya Sasson wrote a report quite critical of Israel's civilian residency construction in the areas of the Jewish historic homeland set aside by international law for "close settlement" by Jews. (You can find it here.)

"The body that was established to attend to the problems of the Palestinian population, declares land as state land, enabling a de-facto settlement of the territories...If no steps are taken against what is going on today in the territories, a moral stain would hover over Israeli society as a whole."

But, dear Talya, it is the right of Israel to permit Jews to live there. Not only are Palestinian problems to be dealt with but Jewish rights are to be preserved. And if didn't do it when you were in government pay, we surely don't expect you to do it when you are free to publicly disclose your own personal prejudices.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was unable to make decisions and had difficulty speaking when he was rushed to the hospital after a stroke last Sunday night, his doctors revealed on Monday.

Doctors also said the characterization of the stroke as "mild" was mistaken, as Sharon suffered from the stroke's effects for more than 24 hours.

MK Michael Eitan (Likud) on Monday had called the exposure of Sharon's medical file a "manipulation." He said that doctors should unveil not only Sharon's test results but also a neurological assessment that would clarify whether the stroke damaged his abilities. "The public must be sure that important decisions are being made by the prime minister and not by Omri Sharon and Dov Weisglass," Eitan said, referring to the prime minister's son and close adviser.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will undergo an operation to close a tiny hole in his heart which is believed to be the reason for his mild stroke last week, his doctors said on Monday.

Sharon, 77, is already back at work after the December 18 health scare and his new Kadima party formally launched its election campaign on Monday to secure the bulky ex-general a third term with a pledge to try and end conflict with the Palestinians.

Doctors suspect a blood clot resulting from a 2 mm hole in the heart, a common birth defect, caused Sharon's stroke.

A tiny tube will be inserted to the heart via a blood vessel in a routine procedure known as Cardiac Catheterization that takes about 30 minutes. Sharon will not need to be readmitted to hospital. It should be carried out in two to three weeks.

"This will be done to prevent future blood clots," said Tamir Ben-Hur of the Hadassah hospital.

Monday, December 26, 2005

To understand Limmud, I have learned, is to understand that this is an "alternative" situation. The Orthodox, per se, don't participate in that Uunited Synagogue Rabbis don't come. The Shabbat Minyan had about 100 people, though, so there is a presence but it is more the stalking ground of the Masorati (Conservative), the Progressive (Reform), the cultural, the mixed, the etc., etc.

I had a very low, but really low turnout for my Hasbara/Media session, 50 for the Disengagement talk, 25 for the Temple Mount address. One trick I used was last night, at David Landau's talk on HaAretz, when I managed to get in the first question. Since David & I know each other, he called me by my knickname, awarded me a compliment as to my abilities and was delighted that I asked the question (about his anti-CAMERA missive). That drew a bit of attention and maybe helped. After all, there are some 1800 people here from all over the world and 700 presentations to choose from.

One thing I can't get used to are the many men with kippot that don't know a thing about Jewish practice as well as some who will not even stop to participate in a Kedusha for Mincha. In fact, at Shabbat Kiddush, after the singing died done, I started in with Eshet Chayil in the Carlebach melody but was hushed down by a glare from the leader who was about to make Kiddush. Those who know me wouldn't be surprised to know that I tried valiantly to continue but once again the glare. So I plaintively said "but it's Eshet Chayil" and that even didn't work (I thought maybe he didn't know that everybody says Eshet Chayil on Friday night).

The second error, I think, was at Havdallah. Now, I know this is a multi-cultural group but still, at the time of Shabbat ending, a guitar was brought out and then 12 people came in with Havdallah candles. We, the Orhtodox, weren't forced to be m'challel Shabbat but we ended up davening some 20 minutes later. I think the proper solution would have been for someone to say aloud; "baruch hamavdil bein kadosh l'chol" and at the very least, that would have given the semblance of proper Halachic decorum.

Otherwise, the weather is cold and today, Monday, turned to a drizzle for a short while.

It is a great place to meet people from literally all over the globe. There's a special group from Israel, located around Shlomi, who will be initiating Limmud in Israel and a group from Russia with the same intent. Etti Ankri is here giving workshops.

But, with Gideon Levy scheduled to go later tonight, the fireworks should begin.

"Certainly if the rocket fire on Ashkelon does not stop, there will be a very fierce response, and no option can be ruled out, including a ground operation," said Vice Premier Ehud Olmert, adding, "but of course, we must reach the conclusion that this is the right method at the time we make the decision."

The messy thing about democracy is that people tend to vote for the candidates they want - a point that seemed lost on Israel yesterday when it threatened to ban East Jerusalem Arabs from voting in the scheduled Palestinian elections if Hamas took part...

...Israel can't just decide to take away that right because it's afraid of who may win next time.

The choice here is between two evils, and the greater would be to take extraordinary measures to keep Hamas out of the running...

...To be sure, the other option, letting Hamas run, is hard to stomach. But it is the lesser evil because any movement, once in power, is compelled to supplement its bluster with deeds. That's what happened to the Palestine Liberation Organization, which once seemed even less acceptable than Hamas.

...The Bush administration must continue to urge Israel to abandon its threat to prevent Palestinians in East Jerusalem from voting. The real intent of such a move would be to force Mr. Abbas to cancel the election. If the administration and Israel really believe that a democratic Middle East is the only road to peace, then they must give it a try.

This is not only outrageous but stupid and illogical and non-factual. Just the opposite witll happen - bigger bombs, longer-range rockets, more devoted suicide murderers. Democracy cannot be used as a weapon to commit politicide in eradicating Israel - Hamas' goal.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Women soldiers serving at an Ashkelon-area army base struck by a Qassam rocket on Tuesday said they have no protection against the shelling, and have asked the army to take immediate steps to see to their safety, Israel Radio reported Wednesday.

The Qassam landed in an open area of the base, which is located south of Ashkelon. There were no injuries.

"It was after dinner," the radio quoted one woman soldier as saying. "Everyone was outside, on a break. I heard 'Red Dawn' [the warning signal for an impending rocket or mortar attack] but I had nowhere to run. I froze. A second later I heard a boom. There were shouts. They took us to the auditorium, to the dining hall, to the armory.

"There was panic. A woman soldier screamed, one of them fainted. Commanders spoke with us, tried to calm us down. But we are not calm. We are in tents. We are all scared."

In all, five Qassams landed in Israel on Tuesday. Apart from the rocket that hit the base, the other four struck open areas near Sderot and the western Negev.

Now, I distinctly remember Ariel Sharon and Shaul Mofaz promising us that Israel's security would be improved because our moral standing in the international diplomatic arena would be morally higher and that in any case, Israel could strike back with impunity due to this and have a better chance to deal with terror.

Bullshit, or as my dear friend Dr. Amiel Unger once wrote on a placard protesting Kissinger many years ago (and I think it even made it into Newsweek), "bovine defecation".

Okay, so now we know that Sharon can't keep a promise and worse, his "solution" is leading us into even more dangerous realms. Maybe someone in academia could support a research poll project and ask now 100 army and policemaen who participated in the disenagement procedure and who defended it, many on the grounds that one must fulfill a democratic decision, whether or not they have second thoughts, whether they would reconsider their actions at the time and whether they will now be more circumpspect, more demanding of answers in any future moves Sharon and the disengagers may propose.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Seems the National Association of Theater Owners wants the Federal Communications Commission to allow the blocking of cell phone signals in theaters which they consider (as do I) "rude behavior". The group would petition the FCC for permission to block cell phone signals within movie theaters.

But, America is a democracy so the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association -- a Washington-based cell phone lobby that is also known as CTIA-the Wireless Association -- said it would fight any move to block cell phone signals.

Their spokesman, Joseph Farren, said: "We're opposed to the use of any blocking technology, because it interferes with people's ability to use a wireless device in an emergency situation."

Reminds me of a joke: NY Governor Patatki was speaking before a large audience when a cell phone started ringing. "Funny," the governor was allegorically to have said, "I didn't know there were any Israelis here."

In Israel, I've seen many methods to "educate" the crowd including repeated messages blared forth from the screen or loudspeakers. But the rather forthrightness of my fellow Israelis seems to mitigate a cultured, graceful solution. C'est la vie!

Yesterday James Tobin, who was President Bush's New England campaign chief for a brief time last year, was convicted of jamming Democratic campaign phone lines on Election day, 2002.

I've covered this before, but a quick recap:

In 2002, then-Congressman John H. Sununu (R) was running against Governor Jeanne Shaheen (D) for Bob Smith's US Senate seat -- Sununu had beaten Smith in the contested primary. On the day of the election, Tobin got his hands on the numbers for the Democratic phone bank -- set aside for get-out-the-vote work, such as reminding people to work and offering them rides to polling places -- and had a telemarketing firm call those numbers all day, tying up the lines. Sununu ended up winning, 51-45%.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Archeologists in Poland have just discovered an amazing document, uncovered from beneath rubble left over in what was once the Warsaw Ghetto.

A Letter and Call to Sanity for the Warsaw Ghetto zealots, from the Peace Now chapter of Warsaw, April 23, 1943.

Dear Deluded Brethren:

A few days ago some zealots from certain messianic settler organizations operating in Warsaw launched a series of acts of unprovoked violence against the legitimate German peace partners directing peace-seeking activities here in Warsaw. A number of German soldiers and officers have been viciously murdered, while others have been maimed and injured by these thoughtless religious fundamentalists.

Comrades, we must emphasize that these violent hoodlums are deluded and are making things much worse for everyone else here in the Warsaw Ghetto. You have to understand that there are no military solutions to the problems of deportations of Jews in the Warsaw ghetto by the Germans. Our problems can only be resolved through negotiations. We insist that, in spite of the claims of these messianic terrorists provoking the Germans, there IS a partner for negotiations amongst the Germans, and we Warsaw Jews DO have a moral responsibility to conduct good faith negotiations with the legitimate representatives of the Germans.

In addition, violent attacks by irresponsible Jewish settlers in the ghetto against Germans will only provoke a cycle of violence. There can be no winners in that.

Don't these people conducting the hooligan violence understand that if they attack the nazi troops and refuse to conduct negotiations with the agents sent to us by Adolf Hitler, Hitler will lose control of his forces and then some **really** violent anti-Semite could take over the Third Reich. Besides, Hitler is really trying his best to rein in the more violent of his stormtroopers; he simply cannot be everywhere at once. And besides, the Red Army and the eastern front have him so pre-occupied that he cannot act more effectively against the renegade SS terrorists mistreating Jews.

In addition, the Germans do have some legitimacy to their negotiating position. After all, Jews in Poland have been illegally occupying numerous Polish territories that really belong to Aryans! The Jews have established themselves in numerous Polish settlements where they just do not belong and their presence there has antagonized some of the local oppressed people. In addition, horrendous inequality has been created by Jewish racism, since the Jews in Poland are better educated than the gentiles there and Jews in Warsaw earned more than non-Jews before the war. This manifestation of anti-gentile apartheid must be redressed! We need some affirmative action to help the Polish non-Jews advance in society.

In addition, some Polish civilians were victims of Jewish pickpockets in Warsaw before the war! The Jews need to pay compensation for THAT.

Clearly the solution is two ghettos for two peoples! The Warsaw ghetto needs to be shared. The Jews in one half must agree to be deported peacefully from that half to other destinations, so that the Germans and the Poles can have equal rights in the New Middle Europe. The entire tragedy that we have experienced is because of the selfish inability of so many Jews to share their property and land.

We repeat, violence has never solved anything. Violence only foments more violence. The violent Warsaw settlers attacking the innocent Germans are guilty of disrespect towards The Other. They are bigots and racists. They have wounded innocent bystanders.

We need to speak out in defense of the human rights of Germans and Poles in the vicinity of the ghetto. We must denounce the racist Zionist hooligans and messianic zealots attacking those victims. Jewish terrorism against Germans must be stopped.

We must begin negotiations at once. Those claiming there is no peace partner on the German side are deluded. We simply have to give Hitler a chance. He just wants a homeland for his own people and his fair share of our territory!

So take a lesson from our rich and wonderful heritage. The Bible itself calls upon us to pursue peace!

Stop the shooting! Start the talking! Now!

Signed,

Peace Now, Warsaw Chapter

=============================================================The above was political satire.

What possible "national security interests" could override the truth of the Bible, of the sovereignty of Israel in its capital city? Whta, they'll rebomb a building? Kill more American servicemen, G-d forbid!, in Iraq?

Bush Again Delays Move of U.S. Embassy in IsraelPresident cites "national security interests" in his decision

President Bush suspended the move of the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for an additional six months December 14.

The U.S. Congress enacted legislation in 1995 calling for the relocation of the embassy to the city Israel claims as its capital, but former Presidents Clinton and Bush, citing "national security interests," both delayed implementation of the legislation.

Many in Washington believe that the move would be ill-received by Palestinians, who also see Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, and that it would therefore undermine U.S. efforts to secure a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ynet carries a report I saw earlier in Hebrew this week that Israel's cabinet to approve Western Wall renovation

The plan is intended to encourage visitation and bar mitzvah ceremonies at Western Wall and is valued at NIS 68 million. The complex will undergo a series of renovations and a number of projects will be established, including a modern visitors' center, a new police station, information center and new entrance to the site.

The government will also encourage holding bar and bat mitzvahs at the Wall and within two months, the government-run Western Wall Heritage Foundation is set to launch a media campaign encouraging citizens to celebrate at the wall.

The plan was developed after research showed that very few Israeli children celebrate their bar mitzvahs at the Wall, as their families do not known how to go about organizing such an event.

Jerusalem's Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz praised the Prime Minister's Office's decision to allocate a budget for the development of a number of services at the complex, in a bid to encourage visitation to the holy site.

And here is what got me peeved:

"The Western Wall is the Jewish nation's spiritual center," he said. "Without a connection to the past it will be very difficult to march into the future."

Sorry, Rabbi. The Temple Mount is our spiritual center. And it is too bad that not one New Shekel was or will be allotted to improving the Jewish presence, either past, present or future, at, on, under or in the Temple Mount.

Peter Homans had his letter, "NATO in the Middle East?", published in the NYTimes last Friday. In seeking a solution based on NATO that would establish a just Middle East peace, he writes - and then completely ignores - that "terrorist organizations...so clearly have the sympathy of [the Palestine Authority's] own people".

If he is correct - and he is, oh, yes he is - can there be a "just peace" with a population that supports, participates in and praises terror directed against civilians simply because they are Jews?

Can there be a "just peace" with an administration that permits this not only to exist but to grow, that refuses to reprioritize its educational system and media outlets and ensures thereby that the Arab population remains anti-Israel, anti-Zionist and, unavoidably, antisemitic.

This is also the conclusion that must be drawn from the refusal of Arab governments, as the NYT itself reported the day earlier in a story, "Arab states quiet", to condemn the comments of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Holocaust is a ''myth''.

Israel could not ignore a Hamas victory. "But Hamas will also have a problem," he told Israel radio. "If Hamas wins a majority it will have to conduct a policy that it does not agree with and conduct foreign relations on an ideological basis that it rejects formally. It will have to change. This will not be simple at all."

It will have to conduct a policy it doesn't agree with? Is he an idiot?

Hamas has just won a great victory and probably feels it will win more and will change the policies Klein wants it to follow and Klein will be responsible for encouraging them to kill more Jews.

In the coming days, community leaders will receive eviction notices and the settlers will have to leave the Palestinian shops by mid-January. If they have not left by mid-February, they will be forcibly evicted.

This is not new. But get this next part and let me know if this sounds logical to you:

The prosecution said that once the compound is evicted, a request by the Jewish resident's board to lease the ownership rights in the market compound would be considered.

The court was also advised that the relevant authorities would act for the termination of protected tenancy rights in the compound currently held by the Hebron municipality. If this decision is implemented, the shops may be leased to Jewish residents, but not to those who took over the shops, the prosecution said.

In other words, in order to placate Arabs who illegally took over the area after the 1929 riots, Jews must be kicked out but a request from other Jews, not those who are living there, to move back in after the first group has been kicked out may be favorably dealt with.

Following up on the Tendler Affair (now, whether there was an "affair" or "affairs" or not, I don't know. I just used the word in its neutral sense), it is reporting that:

The Jerusalem Bet Din ruling [basically nullifying the RCA decision to boot Rabbi Tendler] has reportedly had a ripple effect in Chicago because of the involvement of Rabbi Gedaliah Dov Schwartz in both the RCA and the Chicago Rabbinical Council.

Rabbi Schwartz, who sat on the panel that expelled Rabbi Tendler from the RCA and who was named as a defendant in the case Rabbi Tendler brought to the Jerusalem Bet Din, serves as the av bet din of both the RCA-affiliated Beth Din of America and of the Chicago Rabbinical Council`s bet din. He also heads the CRC`s kashrut supervision. Sources say several companies have indicated they are reconsidering the CRC supervision in light of the Jerusalem Bet Din ruling.

Now, I don't know whether this was the intended effect, but from protecting Rabbi Tendler, the paper is now trying to bring down Rabbi Schwartz, persoanlly and paransa-wise. This is a bit disturbing.

Living in Israel, I know little about this whole business. But I wish to ask, if the JP is tackling Chicagoan Schwartz, why are they supporting the decision to deliberate the case davka in Jerusalem, far-away from all the action?

Thursday, December 15, 2005

There are a few people and websites that are valiantly trying to bring to people's attention the fact that not only is the academia in Israel strongly left-wing and liberal (well, that's not really extraordinary) and even post-Zionist (we are Jews, aren't we?) but that they manage to arrange matters so that they maneuver themselves into dominating positions which suppress, ironically, democracy.

An example?

Next Tuesday, Haifa University's Center for Democratic Research, headed by Dr. Raphael Cohen-Almagor (ralmagor@soc.haifa.ac.il), is hosting a full day's conference on "Freedom of Expression on the Background of the Disengagement Plan" ('Gaza First').

Now, why 'Gaza First', I don't know. That's how Oslo was originally broached way back in August 1993 and I can't recall Sharon claiming that slogan for his moves. So, what has this to do with anything except perhaps to be a poltical slant?

From personal knowledge, whereas #5 wears a kippah, he is not a rightist. And #7, while not a leftist, as Yedioth's Knesset correspondent, he is not rightist.

In other words, academic freedom of discussion about the draconian measures Israeli authorities - the government, the Knesset, the prosecutors, the police, and the courts - have all taken towards limiting freedom of speech and freedom of expression of the nationalist camp is censored and, effectively, censured.

Chazan and Kasher both follow an extreme progressive philosophical approach and both are Meretz people. I can't find anyone who could express even a middle-of-the-road position. No lawyer of the Forum of Erezt-Yisrael lawyers appears on the schedule (whether or not they were invited, I do not know) nor Adv. Naftali Wurtzberger who has experience in these matters. Not even MK Micki Eitan, Chairman of the Knesset's Law and Justice Committee which held hearings on the issue. No one who suffered from the restrictions appears. Orit Struck of Hebron successfully highlighted some abuse during the disengagement but maybe they don't invite people from over the Green Line.

Who knows, maybe a miracle will occur but as it now seems, a real chance to exchange views, to debate and discuss matters from different perspectives will be lost.

And since we are talking about the Center for Democratic Research, is this an example of Israeli democracy?

Haaretz's news alert section (no link) is reporting at 15:23 that a Qassam rocket has landed in Ashkelon's industrial zone; no casualties, damage reported. Earlier, another three rockets fell in the Western Negev.

Now, how am I to advocate Israel's case in this situation?

All that the opponents of Ariel Sharon's politicies, inclduing the Roadmap and Disengagement, had said, me included, is coming true.

the Nazi Holocaust a "myth" used as a pretext for carving out a Jewish state in the heart of the Muslim world

But he goes further:

Today, they have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in Zahedan. "If you committed this big crime, then why should the oppressed Palestinian nation pay the price?"

This is our proposal: If you committed the crime, then give a part of your own land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to them so that the Jews can establish their country," he said.

And all we get are the blitherings of upset diplomats. No action. Hey, after all, we're only Jews.

And with Sharon now running for elections, we'll have no salvation from that corner due to his inability to act, even if he wanted to - which I seriously doubt. It'll spoil the image he's been creating of himself as the peace-maker.

What kind of accommodation remains unclear. Kalman Gayer, another political strategist, is perhaps alone among Sharon's advisers willing to disclose details. The picture he paints is strikingly similar to the proposal Israel's dovish Labor government made at Camp David five years ago, an offer Sharon denounced at the time as "dangerous." In theory, Gayer says, Sharon would accept a Palestinian state in Gaza and 90 percent of the West Bank, and a compromise on Jerusalem, in exchange for peace. But the Israeli leader does not believe Palestinians will be able to deliver peace or make other compromises—like forgoing the right of refugees to return to their old homes in Israel—in his lifetime (Sharon is 78). In the meantime, Sharon wants to "lay the contours of an agreement with the Palestinians," according to Gayer, by creating a Palestinian state in half the West Bank and implementing confidence-building measures.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

I will be appearing in England on TV on the 2nd and 9th January on Channel 4.

I was interviewed by Richard Dawkins for a program on religion and politics a while back and I was the "expert" on the Temple Mount. Some people wrote me that Dawkins is an incorrigible secular atheist and that my appearance would somehow come out all wrong and twisted. Well, that a chnace one takes.

I took a chance a two and a half years ago with Tim Sebastian and BBC's HardCopy programme. As you can see and hear, I didn't do bad at all.

The Edmonton Journal is reporting that one Reinhard Mueller claims that ancient writings have declared him the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and left him in charge of their future.

He's quoted as saying

I hold a spiritual office. With it comes my authority over the destiny of the Jewish people. I am not allowed to hate Jews, nor advocate their murder. But I have the right to chastise them. That is my right. It comes with the office I hold.

Who is Mueller you ask?

Mueller, 62, is on trial for operating an anti-Semitic website called Federation of Free Planets that denied the Holocaust and described Jewish persons as "sub-humans" and "demons." The site also claimed Jews are responsible for creating the Ebola and AIDS viruses, the collapse of the World Trade Centre towers and the Columbia space shuttle disaster.

Goldstein...thinks the [Gush Etzion] fence is a disaster, that it is a political, not a security, barrier. But he knows it will be built, and therefore prefers to choose which battles to fight. That is why the action committees, whose members include Nadia Matar, Datia Yitzhaki and Yehudit Katzover - the wife of Zvi Katzover, head of the Kiryat Arba council - have declared war on it.

...

After the disengagement, Goldstein continues, "a large segment of our public suddenly realized that the flag we had waved all these years hadn?t forged a connection with anyone. We were the vanguard, leading a nonexistent camp behind us. We ran alone, we charged ahead and when we looked back, we saw that there were no armies, that they simply weren't there. So I proposed to my friends in Yesha, after the loss of the Gaza Strip, that we announce that there is no Yesha Council - that in its place is another council, one that can embrace other values. That doesn't mean there is no foundation which people can't continue to love and aspire to. What it does mean is that we weren?t there to explain to them - in their language - what we want."

Did this realization dawn on everyone, or are you alone in your sense that there are at present no supporters among the people for your project?

"Last month, several youth groups came to see me. They wanted to build settlement outposts in Gush Etzion. I told them that if they want to do something for the nation, they should build an outpost in Ra'anana, an outpost in Haifa. In my opinion, that's more important. Because if there is no people, there is no land. People put words in my mouth, as if I've conceded Karmei Tzur, as if I've given up Tekoa. Such nonsense. I'm not conceding anything. But in order to hold on to Tekoa and Karmei Tzur, I need my friends in Ra'anana, Be'er Sheva and Afula."

Most of the leaders feel the same way, most of the public concurs, but it's hard for most people to say the words out loud. Because that puts you in a very lonely place, in which it may be that everything you've built for years was a little bit in the wrong direction. I want you to understand: I think that settlement in Judea and Samaria is one of the most significant chapters in Israel's history. Only I think that we didn't have to begin in Sebastia - we should have begun in Tel Aviv."

In Tel Aviv?

"What happened in Sebastia? We went there, we did something by force, we forced the hand of the government, and we left smiling. But we should have persuaded the government, not forced it. Like the children of Kfar Etzion did. They went to Levi Eshkol, and he said: Go ahead, kinderlach, return home. If the entire settlement enterprise in Judea, Samaria and Gaza had been handled this way, it would have turned out completely different. I can't criticize any of my predecessors. But if we had started out the settlement project with a greater consensus with the people, it would look completely different. Now it's a little late.

Truth tell, I think he's a bit mixed up but it stems more out of a desire to assume that our basic positions were wrong rather than the inability of the Yesha Council to think strategically, do long-term planning, mobilize masses, and sustain a campaign.

Thousands of drunken white youths attacked people they believed were of Arab descent at a beach outside Sydney on Sunday in one of Australia's worst outbursts of ethnic violence.

The police had increased the number of officers patrolling the beach in the Sydney suburb of Cronulla on Sunday after cellphone text messages urged people to gather there to retaliate for the attack on the lifeguards.

The police said more than 5,000 white youths, some wrapped in Australian flags and chanting racist slurs, had fought with the police, attacked people they believed to be of Arab descent and assaulted a pair of paramedics trying to help people escape the riot. The police fought back with riot sticks and pepper spray.

Many of the youths had been drinking heavily, the police said. One white teenager had the words, "We grew here, you flew here," painted on his back. Television broadcasts showed a group of young women attacking another woman.

This is terrible.

Imagine, we Israelis have been attacked by Arabs, by men, women and kid Arabs. We have been bombed in buses, in restaurants and schools. And yes, they even attacked us on our beaches.

And except for one incident of a victory march by Kahane the night he got elected when Arabs in the Old City were pushed around and incidents in Hebron when shop stalls were overturned, I can't recall a similar incident of mass attacks (I am excluding Jewish terror operations which are in another category) by civilians against civilians.

Is it Australia? Is it Australians? Is it beer?

Or is it Western civilization, for better or worse, responding to Islamic terror, real or imagined?

Monday, December 12, 2005

Seems there are games that go around the blogosphere, as if we aren't wasting enough time already on trying to come up with amazing and intersting and out-of-the-ordinary themes and things to blog about normally.

But, I've been tagged, so...

I confess - that I haven't the foggiest idea what I am supposed to do. On Orthomom I saw something about an iPod game and at least that had instructions.

I confess - it takes me ages to learn to do things on computers and other mechanically attained tasks as I need to learn by doing it several times rather than reading instruction or just looking at it and going ahead.

I confess - I really enjoy writing "Letter to the Editor" and once, had three published on the same day under three different names in the same newspaper. Another time, I had three in one week.

I confess - I should lose maybe 10 kilograms.

I confess - I was quite apprehensive about going back to Hebrew U. to do an MA 28 years after I first tried. And I still am.

I confess - I could be accomplishing more tasks at work.

I confess - I so much don't like this confessing that I am not going to tag anyone.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Ariel Zilber, who was the most outstanding artist to mobilize himself on behalf of the Orange Revolutionary Forces opposing disengagement ("78% still unemployed"), appeared on a pop music TV show tonight on Channel One TV, Totzeret HaAretz.

Dana Gordon asked him about his ideology and if it got in the way of his cultural artistry and then probed his religious beliefs (he was seen with tallit and tefillin davening during scenes of the actual disengagement).

If those who support a continued presence in Judea and Samaria want to influence the elections here, one sure way is to get out into the cities along the Green Line. They must tell the people there that if they vote Sharon, it will not be they who are going forward ("Kadima") but the Arabs.

The 45 communities of "Sovev Aza" (surrounding the Gaza Strip) have not been properly protected. Neither their homes, their businesses nor their kindergartens and schools have been provided with the means to secure against attacks.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

P.S. Although David Isaacson means it a bit critical, I think it has a tremendous descriptive flair.

See this:"Gordimer's sentences are frequently a main verb short. The opening line - "Only the street-sweeper swishing his broom to collect fallen leaves from the gutter" (full stop) - is a sign of things to come."

Martin Indyk, former Australian, now American (in a protekzia arranged citizenship process), former American ambassador to Israel, present research analyst) published an op-ed in Friday's New York Times.

Right at the beginning, he writes:

"Life seems good in Israel, too. Terrorist incidents are down to one every three months"

(IsraelNN.com) IDF Gaza Brigade Commander Brigadier-General Aviv Kochavi stated on Wednesday that the volume of attacks and security incidents along the Gaza border is alarming.

Speaking with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, he stated that just this past week, 6 bombs were detected, and that since the IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, there have aready been 19 bombs detected. He pointed out that the smallest of those bombs was 40 kilograms (88 lbs).

Arab terrorists in Northern Gaza have launched 130 Kassam rockets and mortar shells at Jews living in the western Negev area, and there have been 8 encounters between IDF troops and armed terrorists along the border fence.

I wrote the paper a letter, pointing out the non-factual basis of Indyk's claim, a no-no in the ethics of journalism, and added:

Martin Indyk is practicing an exercise in "Wegging" – wild-eyed guessing - when he writes: " Life seems good in Israel, too. Terrorist incidents are down to one every three months" ("Go your own way", Dec. 1).

Israel's government may have disengaged itself from Gaza, uprooting people's lives, their homes and enterprises but the terror is still with us and now threatens larger areas of Israel and its civilian populace.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

A new report has come out regarding yet another aspect of the results of the expulsion from Gush Katif.

Here are some excerpts:

Persons evacuated during the disengagement are suffering from a variety of serious emotional problems, but are receiving little or no treatment, according to a report by the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel.

For instance, the report said, people with special needs who were assisted by social workers from the Gaza Coast Regional Council are currently not receiving any such help, in part because their case files are in storage and therefore inaccessible.

The report, which is based on testimony from psychologists, social workers and volunteers who have maintained contact with the evacuated persons, found that children under age 12 have suffered a variety of problems, including attention and concentration deficits and adjustment problems. Some children are still not in school; others are in school but doing poorly. Hundreds of children have started wetting their beds at night, having nightmares or experiencing other sleep disorders. Some show signs of panic whenever they see a uniformed policeman or soldier. Additionally, parental authority has been undermined: Many children curse, hit or sass their parents.

Among people aged 12 to 19, seven teens have been hospitalized due to evacuation-related trauma. One girl, for instance, was hospitalized after suffering an outbreak of schizophrenia caused by the trauma of having her dead brother disinterred and reburied; she now suspects everyone she meets of being a Shin Bet security service agent. Another girl was hospitalized following repeated suicide attempts, and a third due to a nervous breakdown.

Overall, there has been a sharp rise in alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, truancy and draft evasion in this age group. Eight teenage girls quit their national service jobs due to emotional problems. There have also been a number of hasty marriages - teens who married mainly in order to get out of their parents' houses. Additionally, many have experienced a crisis of religious faith.

Adults have suffered from rampant unemployment - some 2,000 evacuated people are still unemployed - and various emotional problems: depression, outbursts of rage, emotional withdrawal and low self-esteem. Many are having trouble functioning, and the crowded conditions in their temporary homes are creating serious problems of interpersonal relations.

As a result of all this, there has been a rise in the use of tranquilizers, an unusually large number of heart attacks and a rising divorce rate: Ten couples have filed for divorce since the evacuation. Additionally, three adults have died due to what family and friends claim were illnesses brought on by the trauma of the evacuation.

Please note: I have removed the term "settlers" from this story and replaced it qwith a more neutral, non-pejorative word.

Friday, December 02, 2005

The latest edition of the Jerusalem Report (which I didn't find on-line) carried a story about "illegal" outposts in Yesha, and our neighbor to the east, Shvut Rachel, was the main example of the story.

After perusing the article at a library, I decided to send to them the following letter:

I served as mayor of the community village of Shiloh at the time when Shvut Rachel was established. Unlike your correspondent's characterization, Shvut Rachel was not "illegal" (Dec. 12).

Shvut Rachel was built on land that was zoned as belonging to Shiloh seven years earlier and until today, actually is classified as a neighborhood of Shiloh. In fact, 70 permanent homes, originally contracted to be built in Shiloh, were erected at Shvut Rachel within its first year of existence.

As a general comment, Jewish residency in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (YESHA) can never be "illegal", a pejorative term of biased political opposition rather than strict legal interpretation. At the worst, the building of Jewish communities may be bureaucratically unauthorized. The Jewish people's right to reconstitute our Jewish National Home in the area of YESHA and the right to "close settlement" therein was recognized and codified in the decision of the Supreme Council of the League of Nations in 1922 and other forums of international law authority.

Share It

About Me

American born, my wife and I moved to Israel in 1970. We have lived at Shiloh together with our family since 1981. I was in the Betar youth movement in the US and UK. I have worked as a political aide to Members of Knesset and a Minister during 1981-1994, lectured at the Academy for National Studies 1977-1994, was director of Israel's Media Watch 1995-2000 and currently, I work at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. I was a guest media columnist on media affairs for The Jerusalem Post, op-ed contributor to various journals and for six years had a weekly media show on Arutz 7 radio. I serve as an unofficial spokesperson for the Jewish Communities in Judea & Samaria.